Explanations and Reincarnations
by LadyBaSingSe
Summary: Kataang OneShot. Letting go is such a vague term. Will Aang be torn apart by his internal conflicts? Guru Pathik left out so much... Let go Aang, and learn to love.


**A/N: I don't fully understand what's going on with the avatar state at this point in the show. It seems like it's just… gone. But, it appeared like such an important, well thought out aspect of the avatar, so I figured there must be someway to bring it back. Also, as a full on Kataang shipper, I didn't want letting go of Katara interfering with Aang's relationship with her. So, I tied this all together and tried to explain what I think might work as an actual explanation.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters within it.**

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Explanations and Reincarnations

It was a catastrophe to say the least. Injured bodies lay hapless on the ground, rubble and dust covered the floor and thickened the air, people were screaming, and the lash of earth, water and fire laid it's vengeance against all who came in contact with it.

Aang felt like he could do nothing. People were dying, and even though most of them were firebenders, worthy of death, they shouldn't have to go this way. He mainly tried to keep people away from each other, blasting them with powerful gushes of air and tossing them across the room. He refused to kill, though he knew it would have to happen eventually if he wanted to end the Fire Lord.

He felt something inside him, calling to him. Soon enough, it seemed that time froze, and he stood in front of an old friend.

"Why won't you enter the avatar state, Aang?" the voice echoed. "It's the only way to win this fight."

"It's too dangerous, and besides... I can't do it."

Avatar Roku seemed to know what he was thinking, but continued to question nonetheless.

"You must," he said, simply, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to, what you may destroy, who you may kill. You must enter the avatar state and end this war."

Aang drooped his head as if in shame.

"You don't understand... that would require letting go... letting go of Katara."

Roku smiled warmly at him.

"Aang, Aang, my dear boy, I wish very much that Guru Pathik would have explained more thoroughly to you. You see, letting go is a very different concept than this."

Aang cocked his head sideways in confusion.

"No, Roku- it doesn't matter what Guru Pathik told me. I just can't let her go... I love her."

"I know."

"Now I have to get back to this battle and make sure nothing happens to her."

"You can't do that without the avatar state."

Roku walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Aang, let me explain what the kind Guru left out. You see; letting go of someone you love doesn't stop your love from flowing. Love is in a way like the chakras themselves. It has a flowing path, and once it begins to thrive, the source doesn't just go away. Holding onto her is just making it harder to love her."

The young Avatar inhaled sharply.

"But if I let go of her, I _can't_ love her!"

"No, Aang," Roku began with a heaving sigh, "The avatar spirit is a spirit correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, a spirit that was never in human form can't love, it can only care for and possess. But you aren't the avatar spirit; you are only connected to it. There is a fine line between your existing form and it's ever-lasting one. That line divides love and affection from simple possession. So it, as a spirit, cannot love Katara. It can only take your love and mold it into something more understandable for itself. That is why as the avatar, you must _let go_. Once you have let go of Katara, your avatar spirit will not try to shape love into something it isn't. You'll be able to truly love her, and your love will be stronger than any other in all of living existence."

"But," Aang argued, "letting go of her would make me let go of her as well, correct?"

Roku lightly shook his head.

"No. Letting go of earthly attachment is only making you less connected to the world itself. You're not directly letting go of her, you're only making it so that you yourself is not completely bound to your human form on earth. With this done, you have free reign over the avatar spirit, and your loving nature will be built upon."

"Did you love your wife and children, Avatar Roku?"

He nodded and smiled softly.

"Yes, I did, Aang. Before I mastered the avatar state, I thought I was in love with her before. But as time past and I learned to let go, I realized the adoration I had for her in the beginning, was well surpassed by the new and complete love and affection I experienced afterwards. I had let go of her, but yet my love only strengthened. Do not fear letting her go. Fear only makes you weak, and she needs you right now. She needs you to be strong for her."

Aang nodded and bowed to him.

"I understand. Thank you, Roku."

He returned the bow to the young monk and curved his lips into a smile yet again.

"Of course, Aang. I hope you've fully attained the knowledge; and courage, for that matter; to let go of her. Now go- and end this treacherous war, once and for all!"

Roku's spirit disappeared and Aang was standing in the middle of a large fight in the ballroom of the Fire Nation's palace once again.

He looked around for Katara, and when he spotted her, she was mid-battle with a fire navy soldier. She suddenly knocked him to the floor, most likely unconscious.

'_I can do this. I must let go._' Aang thought to himself and closed his eyes. A large ball of wind surrounded him and all attacks that might have been waged on him were deflected.

"I must let go," He repeated softly, this time out loud.

He didn't know what to expect, so when his eyes began to glow, his air shield dissipated and he instantly retaliated an incoming attack.

His eyes reached Katara again and he still felt a deep affection for her. His heart sank in relief. This would be much easier now.


End file.
